Percorrer por autor "Ferreira, F."
A mostrar 1 - 4 de 4
Resultados por página
Opções de ordenação
- After all, Porphyria exists in Portugal! A three-year studyPublication . Ferreira, Filipa; Carmona, Célia; Lopes, A.; Ramos, S.; Nogueira, Célia; Pereira, Cristina; Pavão, C.; Oliveira, F.; Pimenta, R.; Brasão, L.; Ladeira, N.; Freitas, E.; Araújo, G.; Murteira, F.; Soeiro, B.; Queirós, P.; Mesquita, A.; Viegas, C.; Couto, E.; Madaleno, J.; Ferreira, F.; Campos, T.; Araújo, J.; Fernandes, A.; Jacinto, C.; Silva, G.; Santos, T.; Silva, I. Ferreira; Gomes, D.; Brito-Avô, L.; Moreira, S.; Oliveira, A.; Vilarinho, LauraIntroduction: Porphyrias are a group of eight rare inherited disorders, each caused by a defect in a specific enzymatic step of heme biosynthesis. These disorders are multisystemic, with variable symptoms, and represent a major burden for patients and families, with disabling chronic symptoms scattered with life-threatening acute attacks. There are two main clinical types of porphyria: acute porphyria and cutaneous porphyria. Acute porphyrias are often misdiagnosed because of their diverse clinical manifestations, which can mimic other diseases . Methods: Porphyrin precursor accumulation patterns and total urine porphyrins (TUP) are the first-line laboratory tests. The determination of porphyrin profiles in biological samples and the plasmatic emission fluorescence peak are the second-line tests. The NGS porphyria panel is the third-line test. Results/Case report: In Portugal, our unit (URN-INSA, Porto), also an associate member of IpNet (International Porphyria Network), is currently considered the reference laboratory for the biochemical and molecular characterization of porphyria. Since 2022, a cohort of 139 patients has been screened for porphyria. The development of acute and cutaneous diagnostic algorithms has resulted in 34 porphyrias: 5 cases of Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP), 1 Variegata Porphyria (VP), 2 Hereditary Coproporphyria (HCP), 23 Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) and 3 Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP). Conclusion: Even so, these figures are lower in comparison to other similar countries, as we should have a higher prevalence. This diagnosis was not available in our country, which is now possible at URN-INSA. From this work, we have concluded that the articulation between the clinician and the laboratory is crucial to choosing the right biochemical test to achieve the correct diagnosis and complete characterization of the disease. Porphyria exists; we just have to look for it!
- Agentes bacteriológicos e métodosPublication . Ferreira, F.; Rodrigues, R.
- Molecular characterization of human T cell leukemia virus type 1 subtypes in a group of infected individuals diagnosed in Portugal and SpainPublication . Pádua, E.; Rodés, B.; Pérez-Piñar, T.; Silva, A.F.; Jiménez, V.; Ferreira, F.; Toro, C.Over the past decade, Portugal and Spain received large numbers of immigrants from HTLV-1 endemic areas. Our aim was to investigate the diversity of subtypes circulating in these two countries and the introduction of new variants. We performed a molecular analysis of HTLV-1 strains in patients diagnosed since 1998. LTR and env proviral sequences from 26 individuals were analyzed to generate phylogenetic trees along with reference HTLV-1 subtypes from several geographic origins. Epidemiological and clinical data were recorded. Most subjects were immigrants (57.7%) from South America and Africa. All isolates belonged to the cosmopolitan A subtype. Most carried the transcontinental subgroup A, but five subjects carried subgroup D and one carried subgroup C, previously unreported in Europe. HTLV strains showed separate clusters linked to the patients' geographic origin. Although subjects with HTLV-1 infection tend not to be engaged in high-risk practices, silent dissemination of a broad diversity of HTLV-1 viruses may still occur.
- Trimethylaminuria (fish odor syndrome): genotype characterization among Portuguese patientsPublication . Ferreira, F.; Esteves, S.; Almeida, L.S.; Gaspar, A.; da Costa CD, Janeiro P.; Bandeira, A.; Martins, E.S.; Teles, E.L.; Garcia, P.; Azevedo, L.; Vilarinho, L.Trimethylaminuria (TMAu) or "fish odor syndrome" is a metabolic disorder characterized by the inability to convert malodorous dietarily-derived trimethylamine (TMA) to odorless TMA N-oxide by the flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3). Affected individuals unable to complete this reaction exude a "fishy" body odor due to the secretion of TMA in their corporal fluids leading to a variety of psychosocial problems. Interindividual variability in the expression of FMO3 gene may affect drug and foreign chemical metabolism in the liver and other tissues. Therefore, it is important to screen for common TMAu mutations but also extend the search to other genetic variants in order to correlate genotype and disease-associated phenotypes. In this study, 25 Portuguese patients with phenotype suggestive of TMAu were evaluated for molecular screening of the FMO3 gene. Herein, we found 16 variants in the FMO3 coding region, some of which had not been previously documented (Gly38Trp, Asp232Val, Thr307Pro, Ser310Leu). Whenever common variants (Glu158Lys, Glu308Gly) were considered in combination a distinct pattern between the control population and patients was observed, mainly in what concerns the presence of Lys158 and Gly308 in homozygous state. Further studies are necessary to clarify the pathogenicity of novel variants identified in this study, as well as the effect of the common single nucleotide polymorphisms, which may play an important role in disease presentation and/or protective mechanism to xenobiotics drugs or environment.